Infant dies and woman injured after stroller falls down elevator shaft

The doors opened on the 23rd floor, but the elevator car was not there

The doors opened on the 23rd floor

(Rex )

A six-week-old baby died after the stroller she was in fell several stories down an empty elevator shaft, New York city officials said.

The infant, Areej Ali, was killed and her mother was injured after the elevator doors opened on the 23rd floor of their Brooklyn apartment building, but there was no elevator car inside, as reported by the Associated Press.

They both fell eight stories and landed on top of the elevator car.

"That’s my grandchild," the baby’s grandfather, Salah Ali, told CBS New York. "She was like a month old."

Mr Ali said the mother suffered non-life threatening injuries, and his son - the baby's father - was in “bad shape”.

The baby was "his first child, only child", he said.

Tenants told the AP that the elevator had been faulty in the past.

It was out of service at the time of the accident.

The city’s Department of Buildings said it is testing other elevators in the building to "ensure they are operating safely".